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Subscription services say bundling is the future
Bango ’ s research reveals
subscription leaders are betting
on cross-industry bundling as
the future for their fast-growing
industry . The research highlights
a focus on ‘ Super Bundling ’ — a
model that provides integrated
management of subscriptions
through a centralised content hub ,
delivered through aggregators like
telcos .
With data from over 100
executives across leading music ,
video , and multi-service content
providers , the study shows
widespread endorsement of the
Super Bundling model . This model
is already a key growth strategy
with telcos , as exemplified by
offerings such as Optus SubHub
and Verizon + play content hub ,
which bring together dozens of
subscription services .
Explaining the rationale behind
the subscription industry ’ s push
towards Super Bundling , over twothirds
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of subscription leaders say ‘ new customer acquisition ’ ( 73 %) is a high priority , closely followed by ‘ reducing churn ’ ( 68 %).
The research shows that subscription providers have identified several key opportunities in Super Bundling , while emphasising that time is of the essence .
More than three out of five subscription leaders agree that :
• Subscription services should be bundling their services with content providers from other industries ( 69 %)
• Super Bundling content hubs will be a vital revenue source for subscription services in the future ( 66 %)
• Super Bundling content hubs will offer a strong competitive advantage for subscription services ( 65 %)
• Over half of these executives ( 53 %) already say Super Bundling will play a vital role in their future customer acquisition and retention strategies . Some go as far to say that not pursuing Super Bundling could be damaging ,
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with almost a third ( 31 %) warning of potential revenue and market share loss for those that don ’ t adapt quickly enough . When deciding who to select as their bundling partners , communications service providers dominate , with 60 % of subscription leaders citing satellite / cable providers as most effective , followed by broadband ( 56 %) and mobile phone companies ( 56 %). While keenly aware of the opportunities of Super Bundling , subscription leaders also point to challenges implementing the model . Three out of five ( 61 %) report that their core challenge when bundling subscriptions is the complexity of managing multiple partners .
When trying to achieve this through reseller partners such as telcos , more than half report that the top challenges they face in partnering effectively are :
• Technical integration issues ( 64 %)
• Complexity of contract negotiations ( 63 %)
• Time-consuming onboarding
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processes ( 52 %) To overcome the technical challenges of Super Bundling , subscription services need access to specialised technology and infrastructure . Even for those who have the basic tools required to support bundling , building a unified user experience that brings together multiple vendor subscriptions can be complex and costly .
“ This is where the Bango Digital Vending Machine ( DVM ) meets a critical need ,” claims Bango CMO and co-founder Anil Malhotra . “ Tackling the complexities of sign-up , billing , partnerships and subscription management is no small feat , but we ’ ve got you covered . The Bango DVM , a subscription bundling SaaS platform , handles the heavy lifting of Super Bundling , providing the infrastructure to bring together aggregators like telcos with diverse content and service providers through one unified hub . This allows subscription providers to focus on what they do best – delivering excellent content experiences to their subscribers .”
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Major SVoDs use diverse bundling strategies
Findings from analyst firm
Omdia ’ s Bundling ’ s Impact on
the Global Streaming Market
report reveal that Netflix
maintains significant advantages
as a result of its ‘ first-amongequals
’ status within the
streaming sector . This valuable
position allows Netflix access
to direct subscription from
customers and avoid revenue
sharing with platforms such as
iOS or Google .
Omdia ’ s research highlights
that about 98 % of Netflix ’ s
bundled subscribers are from
pay TV , telco , and wholesale
deals . In contrast , Amazon
Prime Video relies more on
its own ecosystem , with only
10 % of its bundled subscribers
coming from external deals ,
while 85 % co-subscribers to the
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Prime bundle .
According to Omdia principal analyst and lead author of the report Sarah Henschel , the delivery of paid online video subscriptions has evolved far beyond a simple one-to-one purchase agreement between a customer and an operator . “ We wanted to investigate this in some depth to discover more about how the streamers are making the most of the bundling options open to them ,” she explains .
The research breaks down bundling types across pay-TV and telco operators , online channel aggregators , credit card and banking services , consumer goods and devices , and cosubscription services .
“ We already knew that Netflix pioneered the pay-TV and telco partnership space in the 2010s , aiding in reducing churn and expanding with media partners ,” adds Henschel .
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“ But we ’ ve also highlighted that HBO Max , or now Max , uniquely grew most of its bundled subscribers from legacy pay-TV partnerships and wholesale linear deals . Disney + focused on a combination of pay-TV , telco and device deals with Disney + Hotstar in India and US Disney / Hulu / ESPN bundles boosting co-subscription shares . Apple TV + utilised Apple One co-subscriptions and device partnership discounts to scale the service . It has also sought telco bundles such as its T-Mobile deals in the US . Today , bundling opportunities are utilised not only for scale , but to reduce churn and focus on owning data and customer relationships . Effective bundling today requires a symbiotic relationship to deliver value .”
“ While these remain the most common methods for bundling SVoD services with other media and utility packages , Omdia ’ s
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new research has found that bundling initiatives can now take many forms ,” advises Adam Thomas , Omdia ’ s senior principal analyst for TV & Video . “ These exist in both digital and physical formats , with media and non-media-focused partners , and can come with or without direct-carrier billing capabilities .”
“ Operators have historically collaborated with streamers for next-generation telco bundles , but the future of streaming extends beyond this ,” suggests principal analyst Tony Gunnarsson . “ Services are now being marketed and resold across various sectors , including banking , airlines and consumer goods and services . The era of streaming as a standalone direct-to-consumer proposition is over signalling streaming ’ s status as an essential household service and underlining the industry ’ s overall maturity .”
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12 EUROMEDIA |